'Veronica' Misses the Mark

On February 28th, Popbuzz came out with an article titled "Netflix's New Horror Film Is So Scary, People Are Literally Switching It Off."

That title to any avid horror fan means the film is great and definitely worth getting cozy to watch it. So a few days ago, my roommate and I decided to binge horror films on Netflix, beginning with Veronica.

There was plenty of hype on the internet, so I quickly filled her in on how good the Spanish film was supposed to be.

Cue our disappointment. The film wasn't terrible, however, the plot was really the same as any horror flick where teenagers play with an Ouija board. They don't do it properly, and as a result, one is possessed, her family in danger, and then she attempts to fix the problem and promptly makes it ten times worse. Thus leading to her death. No gore (minus a poorly screened moment where her younger siblings nibble off parts of her hands) and no jump-scares or slashers.

Then I was told that only one in ten actually finish the movie, which is insane because I almost fell asleep during it. Although I suppose that probably counts as not finishing it. The only reason I can think of for anyone being terrified and turning it off is that they're scared of reading and don't know Spanish.

Understanding the reality of this film though, and that it comes from an actual case in police archives, is what makes this movie come to life.

Estefania Gutierrez and her friends had held a seance in their school, in an attempt to contact one of their late boyfriends who'd died in a motorcycle accident. The seance was interrupted by a teacher, who claimed that a strange, swirling smoke entered Estefania's nose and mouth. After that Estefania experienced seizures, hallucinations, fits of rage, and would snarl and bark at her younger brothers. She claimed that shadowy figures walked by her bedroom at night.

Eventually, she died because of the seizures and hallucinations. There was no official cause of death. After her death, other occurrences began happening inside the Gutierrez home. Slamming doors, electronic appliances turning on and off, whispering, and shadowy people.

These events led to the strange call to the police on November 27th, 1990. Investigating officers couldn't explain anything that they'd seen. Things ranged from posters being clawed apart, and temperatures dropping, to crimson coloured goo in their furniture, and a photo of Estefania falling off the table and igniting without making a mark on the frame or glass.

Since then the family has moved and the condo remains inactive, but to this day nobody in Vallecas, Madrid has really known what happened in Calle Luis Marín número 8.

They kept some actual happenings from the real case, such as the photo, and the bathroom is the main source of activity. It would have been nicer if the case had been followed to the point—but that's Hollywood for you.

Neither my roommate nor I were very impressed with the Netflix movie, Veronica.In fact, we cracked jokes through most of it. We were however enthralled by the case files of the real thing for hours after. So even though the movie wasn't picture perfect, we still gained insight into the weird with it.

I'd probably watch it again, but it's definitely not worth 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. I wouldn't even call it a horror movie, more like a mystery or a thriller. I love movies based on real cases though, so this was a yes from me.

And if you're one of those people who can sit through hours of real documented paranormal cases, then this is the one for you.